Player shown extremely rare white card by referee in Portuguese match

A player was handed a white card in a fifth tier Portuguese encounter.

A centre-back picked up the ball under little pressure on the edge of his own box, but suddenly pulled up and collapsed to the floor.

That presented the onrushing GUS Montemor attacker with a golden opportunity to intercept and beat the keeper.

However, one-on-one with the goalie, the Montemor forward halted and passed the ball out of play to the appreciation of the players and the referee.

Indeed, the official subsequently presented the player with the infamous white card.

The white card is designed to show recognition to clubs and players for acts of fair play and sportsmanship during a match.

It was brought in as a means of improving ethical values in the sport.

Its use is an initiative of Portugal's National Plan for Ethics in Sport to influence sport with fair play, and the actions have been encouraged by the Portuguese Football Federation in their tournaments.

There are no sporting benefits or demerits of receiving a white card, while at present it remains confined to Portugal as it is yet to be approved by the International Football Association Board.

The only other game in history to have featured the white card was a women's cup clash between Sporting CP vs Benfica back in January.

In the semi-final first leg of the Taça da Liga Feminina in Lisbon, referee Catarina Campos brandished the first-ever white card.

Benfica were leading 3-0 when a woman in the crowd complained of feeling unwell in the stands.

Medical staff from both teams moved quickly to help out and, after seeing their heroic response, Campos reached for her top pocket and awarded a white card to those involved.

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